Work Text:
“I’m going to advocate for that lunatic to be put in a ward.” The man sighed, sipping his over sweetened coffee from a mug that he forgot to clean for at least six past drinks. The liquid stained his mustache and he wiped it with the back of his hand.
“What?” The woman in front of him opened her eyes wide. “Are you playing the defendant now?” She leaned forward, pressing her elbows onto the monumental oak desk. She was clearly observing his moves, thinking if he was the one that should be put in a ward instead.
“Listen.” He put down the cup and instinctively reached into the pocket of his impressive coat. “I talked to him.” He swiftly put a cigarette between his fingers, gesticulating with said hand. He silently offered the woman one, she shook her head in response.
“He convinced you that he’s not in fact a murderer? That he just went nuts and out of nowhere killed his boss with no shame or regret - and treatment will fix that?” She watched as the man lit up his possession through her thick glasses. “Also don’t you think that I wasn’t informed how you broke the fundamental rules of a professional interrogation, again.” She hummed.
“I don’t think he sees anything wrong with what he’s done, morally.” He carefully weighed his words, absolutely ignoring the bit about his unusual work practices. The man coughed, smoke escaping between his fingers. “It’s…chilling. To know that a person can think like he does and still be highly intelligent.” He inhaled again. “And all.” He added, for no reason. But the woman saw droplets of sweat form under his fringe.
“Sociopathy?”
“Psychopathy.” He looked the woman in the eyes, piercing her with his stare. He bit his lip lightly. “Primary.” He said through clenched teeth.
“You want to lock him up in a ward because you think jail would be too harsh for a smart, frail criminal?”
He squinted his eyes. The way she spoke exclusively in questions made his head ache, he wanted to cut it short. It felt too much like he was the murderer in need of interrogation. “Because I fear his influence over people, Sergeant.”
ACT 1
Scene 1: The police’s arrest. The setting is depressing, policemen are walking around, dangling their keys. Whines can be heard from the cells. The air reeks of fungal spores.
[Enter DETECTIVE with a cigarette between his teeth and a single key hooked on his thumb.]
[DETECTIVE selects the right cell and opens it. He is surprised by the man already standing face-to-face with him.]
DETECTIVE
(catching his breath)
Aesop Carl, I suppose?
AESOP
Yes, Sir.
DETECTIVE
Now why in the hell were you standing in front of the door like this? Might’ve given me a heart attack.
AESOP
(with an unchanged expression)
I’m terribly sorry, Sir. I was waiting for my interrogation.
DETECTIVE
Alright now, I came just for that. Though it won’t be a classic interrogation.
[DETECTIVE takes out a pair of handcuffs. He is prepared to catch AESOP if he tries to flee - he looks even more malnourished in the clothes the guards gave him, they hang from his bony frame as if the wearer was a skeleton. Unusually the criminal doesn’t try to do anything, he extends his arms politely. DETECTIVE handcuffs him.]
DETECTIVE
We are going outside, you’ll catch some fresh air and tell me all about why and how you killed ol’ Jerry.
AESOP
Yes, Sir.
Scene 2: The backyard of the police station. It’s as gray as the interior, even the grass doesn’t grow fresh. Barbed wire guards the area.
[AESOP guided by DETECTIVE walks onto the scene. They begin walking at a slow pace.]
DETECTIVE
Why don’t you make it easy on me, I have so many maniacs here that this is just routine. You seem to be at least intelligent enough to understand your situation.
AESOP
I do, Sir.
DETECTIVE
And you know that even if you try your hardest to keep all your dirty secrets in I’m going to pry you open like an old casket?
AESOP
Interesting metaphor.
DETECTIVE
(with a trained smile)
Who was Jerry Carl to you? I don’t recommend lying.
AESOP
My mentor.
DETECTIVE
Wasn’t he like a father? A guardian?
AESOP
No, Sir. I never met my father, my mother died when I was but a boy. He was my mentor and he taught me how to work.
DETECTIVE
How old were you when you were forced under his care?
AESOP
I wasn’t forced, Sir.
DETECTIVE
How old were you when you gave yourself under his care, then?
AESOP
Eight years old.
DETECTIVE
(studying his facial expression subtly)
And what did he mentor you in exactly?
AESOP
(with an unchanged tone of voice, looking straight ahead)
Embalming. He was a master at it, with his own funeral home. I was to be his successor in the profession.
DETECTIVE
You spent your childhood around dead bodies, correct?
AESOP
Yes, Sir.
DETECTIVE
And you didn’t get any education, excuse me, proper schooling at the time?
AESOP
No, Sir. I went to school when my mother was still alive. A year before her death they purposefully denied me further schooling because of my autism.
[DETECTIVE furrows his eyebrows. AESOP’s calmness and indifference about what the situation they’re in makes him nervous. He starts picking at his fingers in the pocket of his coat.]
DETECTIVE
How did that impact you?
AESOP
It didn’t. The children at school were cruel, I was glad to spend more time at home. Despite this my mother fell sick. She was worried about my future.
DETECTIVE
How did she meet Jerry?
AESOP
I don’t know, she never told me. One day I just ended up in his funeral home.
DETECTIVE
Did you see Jerry “helping” his “patients”?
AESOP
Yes, Sir.
DETECTIVE
You knew he was injecting them with poison all along, taking advantage of suicidal folk in depressive state to fuel his need to kill?
AESOP
Bromide hydrate, yes. But I do not agree with your opinion on the matter, Sir.
DETECTIVE
(keeping an eye on him)
You know now, I suppose, that Jerry Carl killed your mother?
AESOP
(with no change whatsoever)
Yes, Sir.
DETECTIVE
Okay, you can drop the formalities now. We still have a lot to get through. Tell me, what did you feel when you found out?
AESOP
I was angry.
DETECTIVE
Angry enough to act in revenge?
AESOP
No, angry like a child whose toy got snatched away by a stray dog.
[DETECTIVE feels a shiver down his spine.]
DETECTIVE
You’re comparing your mother to a toy?
AESOP
No, I’m describing my anger towards Jerry. I was young then, I wasn’t in hold of my emotions. Then.
DETECTIVE
And you are now?
AESOP
(silence)
DETECTIVE
When did you find out, and how?
AESOP
Maybe two years after she passed. Jerry told me himself.
DETECTIVE
Why did he tell you?
AESOP
There was nothing to hide and he assumed I was old enough to understand then. I wasn’t yet.
DETECTIVE
So now you do?
AESOP
Yes.
DETECTIVE
And you agree with what Jerry had done to her? Do you think it was reasonable of him to guide her to death instead of seeking help in life?
AESOP
(looking at him as if with mercy)
DETECTIVE
I remind you that this is nonetheless an official interrogation, Mr. Carl.
AESOP
I believe that it’s useless to cling to one's life.
DETECTIVE
That doesn’t answer my question.
AESOP
Jerry was a weak man. I saw that very late, unfortunately.
(with pride)
I’ve exceeded him, I believe.
DETECTIVE
(caught off guard)
Exceeded?
AESOP
He taught me everything and showed me the population’s most fatal flaw. The fact that people claw, bite and tear just to escape the grim reaper.
DETECTIVE
(silent, letting him ramble)
AESOP
It’s natural, to die that is. Everyone and everything on this Earth withers away. But we’ve grown ignorant for the sole purpose of comfort. As long as man fears death, men are not free. The real freedom is to end oneself when oneself pleases. People lose control of their lives, they don’t know why they live, but they push forward. We cling to this primal urge to just stay alive no matter what. Acting like animals, losing our humanity. To be free is to be able to decide when and how your life ends. Not wait and wait endlessly for the cloaked figure with a shotgun in your hand and shout “don’t you dare!” at it. That’s no heroism, that is precisely what being a coward truly means. Jerry was brilliant and Jerry was right, he found the truth buried in our nature, but Jerry wasn’t free. That’s why he is - was a weakling.
DETECTIVE
What do you mean by saying that he wasn’t free?
AESOP
(looking him in the eyes)
He clawed and bit and tore.
DETECTIVE
…When you killed him?
AESOP
(silent, still looking)
DETECTIVE
Listen, if you think you’re gonna scare me with your antics you better be the most insane person in the world. We’re getting straight to the point now. Tell me everything about the day you committed that crime. All of it, you understood? I don’t want to hear that you don’t remember even a minor detail.
[DETECTIVE tugs on the chain attached to the handcuffs making AESOP trip. He tries to assert his dominance, show his power in the situation so that the murderer will keep his place - under DETECTIVE’s boot.]
AESOP
(looks ahead again)
The story starts beforehand. Shall I start from the beginning?
DETECTIVE
Go on.
AESOP
On a normal work day - he was examining me on how well I can embalm by myself, a stupid idea if you ask me, as I was better at the craft than the Master by then, anyway, a letter came. We got post frequently but this one time was different. Only one envelope with a weird red seal on it. He left to read it alone, placing no trust in me as usual. I think a thought began sprouting in his mind that I might surpass him and he was afra-
DETECTIVE
Spare the comments. To the point.
AESOP
Anyhow, after reading the letter he packed up a suitcase and left in a hurry. He told me to take care of the business and didn’t note when he would be back. This didn’t concern me, it wasn’t the only time where he put the funeral home into my hands. But I was suspicious of how quickly he went on his way. I tried to find the letter later, to no avail, he took it with himself. I spent over a month on my own. It was a busy time, a lot of people die in late winter. I had to do everything on my own and yet business was booming. It was clear I had better predispositions to run it than Jerry, I noted to tell him that when he comes back. He wouldn’t deny me the right, it was obvious. So I waited for almost a month.
Jerry came home at night, during a storm. He didn’t have his umbrella open, which was weird enough as he was a very collected man. I opened the door for him and he just crawled inside, like a dog whose hind legs got run over by a car. He left a trail of fresh blood. From checking later I know he had several broken ribs, an open fracture of his left leg, a bunch of cuts, mostly on his back and excessive bruising. Most jarring of all one of his eyes was to no use because of trauma, I speculated that it was a strong hit from a blunt weapon.
He curled up at my feet and begged for help. It was pathetic, he was pathetic. I couldn’t believe this was my Master. If he saw someone in his current state he would help them without second thought. I took him to the bedroom and I bandaged the open wounds. I finally got him to speak, he told me that he was in a death match, a game of survival for the fit…He said he w o n. Won? But his body was butchered, even worse - he begged me. He became a beggar: “How is that a win?” I said. He said “To win was to stay alive”.
Poor Jerry. I realized he was weak, so I cursed myself for not seeing it earlier.
DETECTIVE
Then you used his own tool on him?
AESOP
Correct. He had become the kind of person who was meant to die.
DETECTIVE
He said that about your mother before, didn’t he?
AESOP
Yes.
DETECTIVE
Continue.
AESOP
I talked with him the whole night. I couldn’t understand him, he had become something I’ve never expected, he was an animal. I told him how pathetic he was and that only angered him, he stopped seeing the truth. I spoke of everything, of his decline and the need to transcend this disgusting state he found himself in. He wouldn’t listen. He plugged his ears with the same cotton as the common folk of our world.
I couldn’t leave him like this. It was painful to see how far he had regressed for the sole purpose of staying alive.
DETECTIVE
…Did he fight back?
AESOP
He was too weak to. It made my work easier, he had to accept the help he was offered.
DETECTIVE
And you…
AESOP
I injected him with bromide hydrate. He passed after seventeen minutes.
DETECTIVE
(cold sweat runs down his back, he’s never this nervous about a case)
Was he conscious?
AESOP
Momentarily.
DETECTIVE
Do you regret anything?
AESOP
Why would I regret making the person who cared for me overstep his weakness and become free?
DETECTIVE
I ask the questions.
AESOP
No, I do not.
DETECTIVE
You did it for revenge, did you not? The same fate as your late mother, inflicted by your hands on her murderer.
AESOP
Jerry did not murder her. I did not murder Jerry. I never seeked revenge. When I grew up I understood. Jerry lived so long that his wisdom dematerialized, he lived too long. I won’t make the same mistake.
DETECTIVE
And if you believe in that so hard why are you still alive? Why didn’t you take your life before?
AESOP
I’ll know when my time will come, that’s because I will decide on it.
DETECTIVE
Good luck in a cold jail cell. You’ll have to hang yourself on the sleeve of your own shirt.
AESOP
You won’t let me go to jail.
DETECTIVE
Excuse me?
AESOP
You won’t let them lock me up in jail. You think I’m mad.
DETECTIVE
No fucking killer will tell me what to do- Who do you think you are?!
AESOP
Jerry had become weak, leaving his glory days behind. He was a failure, there’s no place for failures in a functional society. Freedom shall take all in a wave.
DETECTIVE
I know you actually don’t believe in this bullshit-
[DETECTIVE looks AESOP in the eyes. It makes him choke on his words, and he knows AESOP does believe.]
AESOP
There’ll come a time for you to accept it as well, Sir. Everyone will perish one day. To do it on one’s own terms is the true salvation.
DETECTIVE
…
[DETECTIVE takes out a cigarette and lights it in silence.]
AESOP
May I?
DETECTIVE
Sure.
[DETECTIVE unlocks the handcuffs and takes them off before placing a cigarette in AESOP’s hands. AESOP lights it using DETECTIVE’s lighter and breathes out the smoke, looking not any less tranquil than before.]
DETECTIVE
Wait you son of a bitch!
[DETECTIVE punches him to the ground. AESOP doesn’t fight back at all. DETECTIVE handcuffs him again, he looks at his hand, bloody from AESOP’s fractured nose. AESOP lets the blood cover his face when DETECTIVE stands up, keeping an eye on him.]
DETECTIVE
How…How have you done that to me?!
AESOP
(chokes)
DETECTIVE
GET UP AND ANSWER!
AESOP
(obliges, he wipes his face on the material of his shirt)
I haven’t done anything, Sir. I wanted to smoke.